• Added: 11th of June 2007
• Area: Westminster
• Category: Restaurants

London W1S 4HY
020 7495 5999

Jimmy_James said
For Sushi's Sake
I think, before reviewing any more restaurants I should make something of an admission; I am a vegetarian. Yes, it's true, I go to most restaurants and have to order... Risotto. Or some flaky pastried goats cheese concoction. I hate, no. Loathe, goats cheese. As a cheese it lacks flavour, has the consistency of something that should be used to insulate walls and as the primary ingredient to a dish has all the charm of Bernard Manning doing stand up on a beach, dressed in ski wear.

So I choose carefully- although sometimes I have no choice; Last week I was at dinner hosted by MPW at one of his restaurants. I was met with an enormous waxy ball of mozzarella, sitting atop a bed of unhappy rocket, followed by a risotto that was better described as bowl of 'salty rice soup'. In these situations I take myself to a little corner somewhere at the back of my brain and think of how things would've been during rationing.

So! Japanese is a surprising refuge for a vegetarian- being a country where such a concept literally does not exist and they feed their cows beer, massage them every day for years and then take them for a brief jaunt down to the local abattoir.

A friend of mine who spent a length of time in Tokyo, home of canned knickers and talking toilets, who now lives in London, has been educating me on the hidden gems of Japanese cuisine. The wonders of Kikuchi and DonZoko were certainly not lost on me and I have since dedicated myself to finding more such places; Inaho in Hereford Road, Sushi-Say in Willesden and Ukai (vegetarian sushi no less!) have all been introductions of mine to my learned friend and whilst mainly good, none of which have really earned the respect that the 2 former restaurants deserve.

So it was with great smugness I brought my good friend to Sumosan on Albemarle Street; a well-sized, sophisticated Japanese restaurant with pleasing sounding starters (Sea Bream Carpaccio with Sweet Shrimps), convincing sushi menu with everything from Hokki Clam to Uni. The tuna belly was wonderfully meaty and almost fatty, a real gem. I had a mixture of vegetarian Teppan Yaki and tofu Sashimi salad, which was although slightly overdressed, felt fresh, was well presented and the tofu was the silkiest and creamiest I'd tasted in a long time. My companions Chicken Yakitori should probably being avoided, having little or no flavour and edged towards dry. Over a couple of hours we picked our way through a few dishes and on the whole it was genuinely very good. What was truly spectacular about this place was the Sake- We (not knowingly, NEVER knowingly) doubled our bill trying out Sakes and the waitress really knew what she was talking about; tell her your Sake needs and need no longer! The bill was large, but not astronomical; particularly considering we merrily and blurrily worked our way through 2 litres of Sake.

I have as yet however, failed to beat my friends' recommendations

• Added: 14th of May 2007
• Area: North Kensington
• Category: Bars and Pubs

London W10 5TA
020 8969 4500

Jimmy_James said
Sometimes Seasonal Food, but no spring in service.
The advent of the Gastro Pub is something I've always held issue with. The vision of this happy medium is always somewhat marred by the nature of the combination; gastro in food (and price tag), pub in service.

So as not to risk seemingly tarring all with a similarly lackadaisical brush, there are exceptions- The Havelock Tavern in Brook Green, The Narrow in Limehouse, along with the Cod and a couple of others in East London, I've never found remiss in service. But they are unfortunately the exception and not the rule.

Nor, much to my disappointment, is the Badger. I live not a million miles from the corner of Portobello and Golborne Road; an oddly mixed area of the world, even by London standards. Alongside book collectors you can find wholesale Lebanese food sellers, antiques shops, edgy hair dressers and the (in)famous Trellick Tower.

The Badger seemed like a new proposition and welcome replacement to it's previous inhabitant, the Bed Bar. And from the outside it's certainly true. The pub is small and inviting, with soft lighting and comfy ready-worn-in sofas (is there a machine that does that?) and upstairs a small restaurant to seperate the pub-goers from the grazers.

All fine so far.

The menu is fine, with lots of unusually named Englishy sounding produce (tricklemore salad and saltmarsh lamb?), mostly seasonal (Rock Oysters in May?) and all well combined to give a limited, but tasty selection. The wine list does its job- I can recommend the Prosecco, which worked well with the oysters and is an affordable, sometimes preferrable, alternative to the champagnes.

The atmosphere was mute, particularly for a Thursday at 8pm, with few people other than our table of 4. This didn't seem to make an enormous amount of difference to the attentiveness of our waitress, who seemed to hold greater value in moving tables, or talking to her colleague than to respond to my frantic gesturing. Having wheeled my arms several times we did get her attention and her resulting manner was fairly indifferent to our plight, taking our order with a ruthless efficiency and indiscriminate lack of patience. My advice at this point is order everything you canwhile you have them, as subsequent attempts to order were even less fruitful.

My tomatoes on toast were fantastic... tomatoes on toast, and my fricasee of vegetables seemed to be little more than peas, mushroom and potato in a cloudy broth. To give its due though, it was tasty.

We attempted to finish off with some sticky drinks, 3/4 of them arrived and no explanation was giving as to the whereabouts of the 4th mystery drink. Perhaps we'd find it later somewhere, as a nice surprise!

And so we left The Fat Badger- one assuming he's Fat because he chooses to eat in places where he gets served, rather than his own establishment- with a somewhat heavier heart, moderately lighter wallet and slightly greyer hair than when we arrived; 4 starters, 3 mains, 2 bottles of inexpensive fizzy wine and 3 liqueurs coming to a grand total of around 150- somewhat conscientiously not including service- definitely left me feeling cheated, not being 5 minutes from Babes and Burgers, 10 minutes from Osteria Basilico and all that Kensington Park Road has to offer.

• Added: 28th of February 2007
• Area: Oxford Circus
• Category: Bars and Pubs

London W1W 7JE
020 7631 0700

Jimmy_James said
Glamour gone garish
There seems to be an endless stream of cocktail bars in London these days; a deluge of below-par Mojitos and caipirinhas populate the drinks menus of every blanch wood and aluminium establishment claiming (but never delivering) cocktail status- However mint drowned in ice and low grade rum, does not a cocktail make...

Thankfully, amid these pumped up pretenders, there are those that still manage to do something special and interesting. London is filled with gem's in unusual places. Annex 3's sister, Loungelover, is tucked away on an otherwise deserted street off of the dingiest part of Commercial Road and still provides some of the most creative and tasty drinks around. It's decor throws a harsh parellel to its' surroundings; a true Narnian affair of Hippopotami, enormous candles and fairytale cottages, surrounded by rubbish-strewn streets and low built commercial premises.

Annex 3, the newest venture of Hassan Abdullah, Michel Lassere and Stefan Karlson, creators of Le Trois Garcon and the aforementioned Loungelover, is a new adventure in interior frolics, coupled with equally adventurous cocktails.

When I say adventurous- think Wasabi martini's, Sake with rhubarb and fresh passion fruit coupled with chestnut liqueur. Beyond this Annex follows the standards well- the martini is good (although a tendency towards the overdry) and the other stalwarts stand up just as well; the champagne beer is a gimmick, but not the worst tasting.

In all honesty the only thing that lets this place is location. It provides a thankful replacement for Mash round the corner, but it's precisely its accessability that let's it down, attracting a crowd of Media Agencies and Media owners seeking to impress. As much as this crowd is a part of London (and I'm sure a necessary one!) it's a surefire killer for a bar, driving out the patronage of perhaps a longer term punter, in favour of a momentarily higher value, but all together more flighty, crowd.

• Added: 27th of February 2007
• Area: Marylebone
• Category: Restaurants

London W1H 7JZ
020 7935 9088

Jimmy_James said
Traditional Italian with a twist
There are few restaurants in London that truly deserve the hype they receive. When Giorgio first opened this restaurant, having previously worked at such places Zafferano's and having worked with Zilli, the waiting list got so extraordinarily long they took the view of taking booking's of no longer than 6 weeks in advance. The fact that this still holds water today is a testament to the Locanda's lasting appeal.
The menu is always fresh, the service beyond reproach- and the interior a wonderful and surprisingly warm cross of 60's chic and modern day design. And Giorgio's wife still manages front of house as far as I'm aware, giving a family spin to an otherwise glitzy restaurant.
The food, my god the food! the pasta is delicate, the flavours robust, the ingredients sourced are without compare. Not once have I encountered anything except perfection. The wine selection provides something for every budget- meaning you can easily have a world class meal for 2 and a bottle of wine for 70 and not feel like you've had to scrape the barrel.
I cannot recommend this restaurant, or sing its praises enough, save to say it is my favourite, by a long shot and everybody should go, at least once.

• Added: 27th of February 2007
• Area: Soho
• Category: Restaurants

London W1B 5PS
020 7734 1974

Jimmy_James said
Authenticity guaranteed
From the Shochu ads, to the wooden menu boards, to the wild and colourful array of fish displayed- there's no doubt that this is a serious suchi place. Gruff service and simple surroundings shouldn't put you off though; the extensive menu and supremely fresh ingredients speak for themselves. Highly Recommended